Bangalore, January 16:Karnataka Horticulture Department will set up a pilot plant at Mangalore to produce coconut juice (Neera) for promoting natural product as a health drink in the state.
The plant will be set up at a cost of Rs one crore with an installed capacity to produce about 1,000 litres of juice per day from fruits of the coconut palm,” Horticulture Director N Jayaram told UNI.
The department would use the technology developed by the state-run Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL) and Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore, to pasteurise and process the palm nectar as an unfermented beverage.
Mr Jayaram said ”we will source the fruits from the 400 coconut trees we have grown in a 29-acre farm near Mangalore. The oozing water will be sapped from the trees before sunrise at the budding stage, pasteurized and processed using membrane technology to preserve it as juice for six-nine months.
Stating that each coconut tree was estimated to yield two to three litres of water per day at the flowering stage, he said ”we intend to
transfer the processing technology to coconut growers or farmers in
the state after the pilot project achieves standardisation and creates
benchmarks for quality and productivity.”
———————UNI